This page is a documentation of my editing contributions in PRWR 6440: Professional and Academic Editing (Fall 2019). This graduate course was a part of the Fall 2019 semester of my MA in Professional Writing at Kennesaw State University.
For this class, I worked on an indie video game called Abandon and received peer feedback. I also offered suggestions to my peers, which is detailed below.
For this class, I worked on an indie video game called Abandon and received peer feedback. I also offered suggestions to my peers, which is detailed below.
Professional Statement
My hopes when helping a writer create a work are to build them up and collaborate to make their work stronger. G. Lynn Nelson, author of Writing and Being, discussed how writing and reviewing writing should be more than "tearing apart" someone's work or striking out superfluous commas. Grammar certainly shouldn't be neglected, but my focus extends beyond proofreading.
An editor should strive to meet writers where they're at. Also, an editor should prioritize. If one focuses on commas when a writer's piece might need restructuring, they are doing the writer no favors.
Indeed, I am adept at finding typographical errors and inconsistencies in a text, but I enjoy the process of discovery and brainstorming. Within this class, I have discussed the big picture of ongoing projects as well as looking at consistency and ways to use digital media to connect ideas. I have helped to consolidate and connect ideas within the documents.
Ultimately, I view writing as a constructive process, not a destructive one. "Kill your darlings" and "rip apart your work" can only go so far. I want to help writers ensure their work fits their vision. I've written projects where I needed outside context because I was displeased that the version of the story I wrote didn't fit what I wanted for the piece. I hope to offer the same assistance.
An editor should strive to meet writers where they're at. Also, an editor should prioritize. If one focuses on commas when a writer's piece might need restructuring, they are doing the writer no favors.
Indeed, I am adept at finding typographical errors and inconsistencies in a text, but I enjoy the process of discovery and brainstorming. Within this class, I have discussed the big picture of ongoing projects as well as looking at consistency and ways to use digital media to connect ideas. I have helped to consolidate and connect ideas within the documents.
Ultimately, I view writing as a constructive process, not a destructive one. "Kill your darlings" and "rip apart your work" can only go so far. I want to help writers ensure their work fits their vision. I've written projects where I needed outside context because I was displeased that the version of the story I wrote didn't fit what I wanted for the piece. I hope to offer the same assistance.
Conceptual Editing
For the conceptual editing workshop, I worked with a peer, Ade, on a recipe e-book. Ade already had a good deal of the recipes available and well-organized. The work dealt with what to do when he expanded the book.
We discussed the general organization and focus of the project. Ade said the audience of this recipe is people who live alone and need a quick way to know how to make a meal. I asked whether he would expand the project beyond its initial scope, and he said he would add more recipes.
We talked about what order and presentation would work for the piece, and I analyzed what he had of the project and offered suggestions on the aesthetic and layout. I offered alternate suggestions on the order of the recipes depending on the audience and content of the recipes.
We discussed the general organization and focus of the project. Ade said the audience of this recipe is people who live alone and need a quick way to know how to make a meal. I asked whether he would expand the project beyond its initial scope, and he said he would add more recipes.
We talked about what order and presentation would work for the piece, and I analyzed what he had of the project and offered suggestions on the aesthetic and layout. I offered alternate suggestions on the order of the recipes depending on the audience and content of the recipes.
Developmental Editing
"A Second Bloom" by Samantha Godwin is a hypertext piece of Jane Austen-inspired fiction developed through HTML.
We discussed whether sometimes the lack of choice is helpful to get across the message of the piece that one must be charitable, rather than literally telling their sister Mary to, succinctly, "F**k off." The project creates a situation that teaches the player-reader they must be patient despite any knee-jerk inclinations, but I pointed out ways to inject choice in an interactive medium.
We also examined how playing with the look of the piece will assist with how the reader engages with the text. The answer the reader chooses shows up in front of the text that appears from clicking it, and we discussed if there were methods to circumvent any possible confusion going forward as she develops the piece.
Later on in the workshop, we talked about the future scope of the project, as only the early parts of the story are done, and we broke down the most effective ways to use choice in a hypertext work and how to guide the reader.
We discussed whether sometimes the lack of choice is helpful to get across the message of the piece that one must be charitable, rather than literally telling their sister Mary to, succinctly, "F**k off." The project creates a situation that teaches the player-reader they must be patient despite any knee-jerk inclinations, but I pointed out ways to inject choice in an interactive medium.
We also examined how playing with the look of the piece will assist with how the reader engages with the text. The answer the reader chooses shows up in front of the text that appears from clicking it, and we discussed if there were methods to circumvent any possible confusion going forward as she develops the piece.
Later on in the workshop, we talked about the future scope of the project, as only the early parts of the story are done, and we broke down the most effective ways to use choice in a hypertext work and how to guide the reader.
Copy Editing
"Cosmological Conundrums" by M. Gail Grant is a site dedicated to facts about the cosmos and poems about that subject matter. Overall, the look of the site was well done and professional, as per Grant's hard work coding the project.
To assist Grant, we explored on a line-by-line level what would be appropriate for the composition of her piece to maintain thematic and aesthetic cohesion. I suggest an introduction for the landing page and a way to interconnect all the pages into the "Poetry" section through the use of hyperlinks.
Grant's concerns dealt with content creation and consistency, and through our discussion, we addressed those aspects of the project. With these steps, her already well-done work will feel connected and dynamic in how a visitor may navigate the website and see how all the pieces are connected.
To assist Grant, we explored on a line-by-line level what would be appropriate for the composition of her piece to maintain thematic and aesthetic cohesion. I suggest an introduction for the landing page and a way to interconnect all the pages into the "Poetry" section through the use of hyperlinks.
Grant's concerns dealt with content creation and consistency, and through our discussion, we addressed those aspects of the project. With these steps, her already well-done work will feel connected and dynamic in how a visitor may navigate the website and see how all the pieces are connected.
Line Editing
I looked at Chelsea Adamczyk's For Dead or for Worse, an action-horror RPG game made in Twine. The story involves the player attempting to survive the zombie apocalype. As they go through a devolving city, they must learn who to trust and when to be courageous or wary.
I went through each path multiple times and noted sentences with missing words or punctuation. We also looked at areas with run-on sentences and discussed how best to structure paragraphs. There were instances where commas should have succeeded clauses to avoid many of the details becoming lost in the dense descriptions. I offered suggestions on how to strengthen the organization and pointed out typos.
Overall, the work possessed a good balance of longer, descriptive sentences and punchier, action-oriented sentences.
I went through each path multiple times and noted sentences with missing words or punctuation. We also looked at areas with run-on sentences and discussed how best to structure paragraphs. There were instances where commas should have succeeded clauses to avoid many of the details becoming lost in the dense descriptions. I offered suggestions on how to strengthen the organization and pointed out typos.
Overall, the work possessed a good balance of longer, descriptive sentences and punchier, action-oriented sentences.